Saturday, 15 August 2015

Synopsis:In the happy, clean
community of Austin Valley, everything appears to be perfect.
Seventeen-year-old Em Fuller, however, fears something is askew. Em is
one of the new generation of Dream Travelers. For some reason, the gods
have not seen fit to gift all of them with their expected special
abilities. Em is a Defect—one of the unfortunate Dream Travelers not
gifted with a psychic power. Desperate to do whatever it takes to earn
her gift, she endures painful daily injections along with commands from
her overbearing, loveless father. One of the few bright spots in her
life is the return of a friend she had thought dead—but with his return
comes the knowledge of a shocking, unforgivable truth. The society Em
thought was protecting her has actually been betraying her, but she has
no idea how to break away from its authority without hurting everyone
she loves.

My Review:

I completely adored Sarah’s first series, The Lucidites, so
I had high expectations for this first instalment in The Reverians. Still set
within the Dream Traveling world, Defects follows Em as she discovers not all
is as it seems within her cosy little hometown of Austin Valley.

On the outside, Austin Valley seems to have the perfect set-up.
Secluded from the outside world, everyone is cared for and treated well, given
a profession and a purpose. At least, that is what the citizens believe.
Underneath the ‘fair’ rule of President Vider, there is something much more
sinister at work.

Em is a Defect, a Dream Traveler who, for some unknown
reason, has yet to discover her gift. Every day of her life, she must receive an
injection that she hopes will allow her gift to surface. Without it, she feels
held back and not able to fulfill her true purpose, which isn’t helped by her
older sister’s constant taunts, and her parent’s disappointment.

If I expected The Reverians to be anything like The Lucidites,
then I was extremely mistaken. Although this series still focuses on the Dream Traveling ability, that is where the similarities end. Austin Valley is like a
completely different world, one that is a lot darker than anything in The
Lucidites series.

There is always something creepy about towns and societies
that shut themselves out from the rest of the world, and this town is no
exception. The President is a terrifying character, especially with the
influence he has on most of the people around him.

The pacing of this novel is perfect. At first, we get hints
here and there that something isn’t quite right, but then as the plot unfolds,
we start to realise just how wrong the situation in Austin Valley really is.

I can’t begin to describe how well written the more sinister
characters in this novel are. Em’s father made my skin crawl with how vile he
was. He’s one of those characters that remains eerily calm as creates chaos. I
really couldn’t decide who I hated worse, him or the President.

Em is a wonderfully developed protagonist. When the events
start to unfold and she begins to realise how much her father has deceived her,
she takes on a whole new and feisty personality, one that is strong and
determined to seek justice for the poor people of Austin Valley who have no
idea what is happening around them.

The rest of the characters are all fantastically written.
Rogue is the President’s son, and Em’s best friend whom she believed to be
dead. He returns to Austin Valley and tells her and their friend Zack the secrets
that his father has been hiding. Secrets that were awful enough to make him run
away and allow his friends to think him dead. I fell a little bit in love with Rogue
from the moment he was introduced. He’s witty, but serious when he needs to be.
I can’t wait to discover more about him in the series.

I liked how Em wasn’t completely alone within her family.
She had support from her younger sister Nona, and her grandma, Tutu. They’re
both hugely important to Em, and I’m hoping to see more of the bond between the
three of them in the future.

There was one other thing that tied this series to The
Lucidties: Ren. He was one of my favourite characters in the previous series,
so I was thrilled to see him and his sharp, sarcastic commentary once again. He
is brought to Austin Valley by the President to record any changes in the
Defects’ lack of abilities, and he also happens to be Em’s uncle. I’m excited
to see what part he’ll play throughout the story.

This is a strong start to what I predict will be a thrilling
series. Eerie from the very start, every chapter has a new revelation that keeps
the reader hooked. It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s full of surprises, and I can’t
wait to see what happens next.

Friday, 7 August 2015

When Avery Shaw’s heart
is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it
the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science
fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic
of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to
experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests,
she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself
ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her
partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds
the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother
Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school
basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and
some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson
to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than
she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery
doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing
Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

My Review:

Avery has had her heart broken by her
best friend, Aiden. She's been in love with him for years, but when
he decides that the two of them need some space, she confesses her
love to him, only to have him tell her that he doesn't feel the same
way.

Aiden and Avery have been partners in
the science fair each year, so this time around, Avery has to go it
alone in coming up with a project and finding a parter. Unknowingly
to him, Aiden's actions give Avery an idea. In order to get over her
broken heart, she recruits Aiden's brother, Grayson, to help her with
an experiment in which she aims to prove that the seven stages of
grief can cure a broken heart.

Whilst Avery thinks that everything
Grayson is doing is in the name of science, much to his own surprise,
he's actually starting to fall for her. Throughout the course of the
book, he tries to help Avery get her life back on track after
Aiden's dismissal, both learning a lot about themselves and each
other in the process.

This book was an incredibly fun read.
From the moment Avery accidentally ended up in the shower with
Grayson, I knew it was going to be a wild tale, and I wasn't wrong.
With a fantastic bunch of characters and a plot that never stops
delivering, this made for an entertaining and heart-warming read.

As someone who generally doesn't favour
split-narrative stories, this book wouldn't have worked without
Grayson's hilarious perspective on the events that occur. The stark
contrast between him and Avery was brilliant and I utterly enjoyed
the huge difference in narration from each of them. I found myself
laughing so much during Grayson's chapters that I was glad I wasn't
reading it on public transport at the time!

Avery's innocence and constant blushing
could have ended up slightly annoying if it wasn't so well written,
but because Grayson finds it so adorable, and the way it endears her
to him, makes the reader see it through his eyes and appreciate the
way he sees her.

Avery herself is a great character and
I adored her development throughout the story. At first, I almost
wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her to get over Aiden
myself, but I love how she learns and grows stronger as the book goes
on.

The supporting characters are all
wildly entertaining. I dare you not to love Avery's friend Libby, the
cats-on-clothes wearing science geek who tells it like it is. I was
thrilled to find out that Kelly Oram's next book is a follow on from
this story, but about Libby. I cannot wait to see more of her.

Also, I can't tell you enough how much
I loved the breaking of stereotypes when it came to the popular
characters in the story. Usually, the queen bees of the school are
bitchy and generally not nice, but Pam and Chloe
welcome Avery, a member of the science club, into their world with
open arms, offering to help her. That's not something you see very
much in contemporary YA!

I completely enjoyed this book and all
it's fun-filled stages. Avery and Grayson's relationship was sweet
and believable, as was her journey to accepting Aiden as a best
friend rather than the love of her life. This is a book that
definitely left me smiling, and I can't wait for the follow-up story,
The Libby Garrett Intervention!

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

Well we're mid week now--half way through Science Geek Appreciation Week--and it's time to get up close and personal with the author of the Science Squad series, Kelly Oram.

If you missed any of the previous posts about The Avery Shaw Experiment or The Libby Garrett Intervention, be sure to stop by the Facebook event. Along with the posts, there's all kinds of extra bonus material, games and giveaways going on. Lots of chances to win signed books and swag, talk to the author and just have fun with other science geek loving friends. There's a new giveaway every day. CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE PARTY!

So, what should you know about Kelly Oram?

The Obvious:
I love to write.
&
I'm a ginger.

The Basics:I wrote my first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about my favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which my family and friends still tease me. I'm obsessed with reading, talk way too much, and like to eat frosting by the spoonful. I live outside of Phoenix, Arizona with my husband, four children, and my cat, Mr. Darcy. And we named his litter box Pemberly because it's where he makes ten thousand (poops) a year!

The Fun Stuff:
1. I love to sing and went to college as a voice performance major.
2. I once competed in the Miss Michigan Teen USA pageant. (I did not win LOL.)
3. I’m a baseball fanatic. (Go D-backs!)
4. I broke my head as a kid and had to wear a hockey helmet to school as my cast.
5. I own my own 10-sided dice for role-playing that no one but me is allowed to role.
6. I’m left handed.
7. I am credited as associate producer for the independent film Amber Alert.
8. I live for road trips. Best vacation I ever took was a three-week coast-to-coast-and-back drive with my father.
9. The Backstreet Boys were my 1D in high school, and I was a total fangirl. I still have a whole collection of fan paraphernalia.
10. I took both golf and bowling classes in college to fulfill my PE credits. (I still suck at both.)

The Bookish Stuff:

How did you come up with the idea for The Avery Shaw Experiment?

I remember the day I came up with the idea, but not exactly how the concept popped into my head. I went for a run. (Okay, it was more of a walk-run during one of my on-again times where I was dedicated to working out. The off-again times are way more frequent.)

Anyway, I'd ton for a run and it was one of those precious moments where I was by myself, no distractions, no kids--just me and my thoughts. The concept for a girl getting over a broken heart using the seven stages of grief popped into my head, and before that half an hour (yes, that's all I can run before I want to die) was over, I had most of the book plotted.

I was in the middle of another manuscript at the time, but I went home and wrote Avery's prologue right away. Five weeks later I had a finished book. The Avery Shaw Experiment had been my easiest book to write so far. It just flowed so naturally, and honestly, I blame that on Avery and Grayson's natural chemistry. (Hehe science pun totally intended!)

Are you a science geek yourself?

I am a geek of many colors. Music, fantasy, sic-fi, choir, books... But no, I was never a science geek. I was actually a very mediocre-to-horrible student. I never liked the academic stuff, and I struggled with a lot of it. (I spent too much time in my own imagination!) But, that said, I can see the fun in doing science experiments, and I find the occasional documentary about science stuff interesting. Most of my science geek inspiration was drawn from my mother. (She is a HUGE science nerd!) The woman love bugs and dissection and all things dealing with the human body. She worked in a chemistry lab when I was younger and now works with a team of rocket scientists putting rockets in space and sending supplies to the space stations and things like that. It's a dream come true for her every time she travels to Virginia to launch one of her rockets. She's a hard-core nerd and I love her dearly for it, which is way I had to dedicate The Avery Shaw Experiment to her. (Love you Mom!)

How did you come up with the idea for The Libby Garrett Intervention?

Libby was a little different. The idea didn't come as easy. It took a lot more planning. I loved Libby's character and really wanted to write her a story, but it took me a long time to commit to it. As much as everyone asked for a Libby and Owen story, I really felt like Owen wasn't the right one for her. The idea for the Libby Garrett Intervention sparked from me imagining what a relationship between Owen and Libby would be like based on there characters from The Avery Shaw Experiment. I just couldn't imagine Owen ever being a Grayson, and falling for Libby the way she deserved. That's where the idea of Libby's "addiction" to Owen came in and it was a short leap from there to the Twelve Step program. I loved the idea of the steps because it fit perfectly with the stages of grief I used in the first book. It was the perfect companion story. And suddenly, volia! I had the next book.

Will there be more Science Squad books in the future?

There will be at least one more. I have a story already plotted out for one of the other science squad geeks, though my writing schedule is so packed that it will probably take me a couple years to get to it. After that, I don't know. I'd love to end the series with Aiden's story, but I'd have to actually come up with a story for him first. I've pit the idea in my head though, and am letting it simmer, so we'll see what happens.

What's your favorite part of the story, and your favorite quote from The Avery Shaw Experiment? Oh, goodness, that's award one. I know most people probably love the shower scene (it's not what you think!) in the beginning, or the dancing scene, or basically all the more romantic scenes between Avery and Grayson, but my favorite scenes are actually the science/school. stuff. (Maybe I'm a bit of a science geek after all. My mother would be proud!) I love the scene where the science squad takes Grayson to the bowling alley for a lesson in applied physics and explain Newton's laws. Like I said, I struggled a lot in high school, because, like Grayson, I have a different style of learning than most people. I need things to be interactive and fun, and I need things explained to me in ways that are applicable to my daily life. I had a lot of fun finding a way to make science fun and creative.

My other favorite scene is between Grayson and Mr. Walden at the end. As much as I loved Grayson and Avery, I had a special place in my heart for the relationship between Grayson and his Physics teacher. I've been where Grayson was, and I had a couple of cool teachers that, despite my grades and struggles, really understood me. Those were the teachers that made a difference in my education, and I really wish there were more great teachers out there. So, yeah, developing the relationship between those two was a lot of fun for me, and in the end when they've completed character arc, it still makes me smile every time I read that scene.

As for my favorite quotes? I have a million, but I'll narrow it down to two for you. I already have them in convenient photo teasers for you to pass around the internet, should you feel so inclined. ;)

So, that's me in a nutshell. Hopefully you've recognized my brilliance by now (and my sarcasm) and I've convinced you to check out the books. I think they're a lot of fun and I'm so excited to share Libby with the world!

The Avery Shaw Experiment is on sale this week only for just $0.99.

I promise, it's worth the dollar!

Amazon * iBooks * B&N * KoboAnd The Libby Garrett Intervention is now available for the special preorder price of $2.99.

(Regular listing price $4.99 after it goes on sale, so order now and save yourself some money!)

If you'd like to see more, there are more teasers, excerpts, character interviews, games and giveaways happening on the Science Geek Appreciation Week Facebook event. Make sure you stop by the party and enter to win some of the giveaways. Signed books and swag! FACEBOOK EVENT

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

Hello, bookworms! Today I'm super excited to share with you this awesome interview with the wonderful K.C. Tansley, author of The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts!

Hello! Can you tell us a little bit about your novel, The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts?
Absolutely!
It’s a YA time travel murder mystery. In The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts,
prep school junior Kat Preston accidentally time travels to 1886
Connecticut, where she must share a body with a rebellious Victorian
lady, prevent a gruesome wedding night murder, disprove a deadly family
curse, and find a way back to her own time.

I adore stories that feature ghosts! What was it that inspired you to write a story about them?
Me
too! I’ve always been a fan of gothic stories and ghosts stories. My
favorite book is Wuthering Heights. I believe in the
unbelievables—ghosts, spells, and time travel. I wanted to put my own
stamp on ghost lore and it was so fun to have them in the story.

I
laid down the story bones of the time travel murder mystery first. I
wanted Kat to have a cool secret that had to do with the paranormal.
Toria’s ghost came into the story later and I realized I wanted her to
have a bigger role earlier on. I also wanted to give Kat a really unique
inner conflict, knowing something exists, but having to convince
herself it doesn’t. She has to lie to herself to protect herself from
ghosts.

Have you ever had any ghostly experiences happen to you?
I
have. When I lived on Wall Street, there were several nights in that
haze between dreaming and fully awake where I saw ghosts at the end of
my bed. People dressed in clothes from another era and exuding an eerie
bluish light. It turns out there were some horrible fires that destroyed
buildings down there. I think when people die tragically something of
them remains.

In my apartment in Washington, D.C., I used
to hear people walking in the living room at night. At the time, I
lived alone. It scared me so much I would throw the covers over my head.
Because as we all know that protects us from the supernatural. I never
went to investigate, but to this day, I think ghosts were moving around
in there at night.

You have a lot of history featured in
the story, especially with the time travel that occurs, how did you
research for writing those events?
It involved many trips
to the library and a ton of internet research. I read dozens of books
on Victorian fashion to make sure I got the clothes right. I researched
historic homes to make sure the decor fit the time. I couldn’t have a
chair that was made in 1895 sitting in a parlor in 1886. Even my word
choices, I checked the etymology of phrases to make sure my characters
weren’t saying slang that was invented after their era.

The
hard part is hunting down a single detail like the electrical features
of homes in that time. Knowing what was possible vs. what would exist in
the castle. Sometimes I had to make a choice to stay a little further
in the past with technology because it wasn’t widespread or they
wouldn’t have done that type of work to an old castle yet.

Did you relate to any of your characters at all?
I
relate to all of them in some way. I get why they do what they do. I
have to feel what they feel and understand their motives and what’s at
stake for them to write them. That’s part of my writing process. I slip
into my character’s skin.

My friends tell me they see a
lot of me in Kat. She’s the first character I ever created so I poured
many of my experiences into her.

What was your favorite part of the writing process, and what did you find the most difficult?
I
really enjoy the first draft. I have an outline, but there’s still so
much discovery going on as I write. I love figuring out where the story
will go and going there. Sometimes I hide a seed for a future subplot
without realizing it. Then as I revise I realize I planted something
that I can nurture in revision. It feels like future me went back in
time and put something in the story to help me along.

The
hardest part is probably revisions with the editor. When she points out
something that isn’t working, I can’t see it. If I did, I’d have
already fixed it. So I have to change my perspective and see my work the
way she does. That’s the only way I can fix the issue. It’s incredibly
hard to do, especially on a deadline. I had 8 weeks to do editorial
revisions, which included a rewrite of the first 100 pages. That 8 week
deadline includes the time I spent reading the editorial letter and
processing the feedback too.

'The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts' is the first book in 'The Unbelievables' series. How is book two coming along?
Much
better than I expected. I’ve written most of the first draft already.
I’ve been writing 2,000 words a day since June 9th. It’s a rigorous
writing schedule, but it worked really well with this story. I still
have to do a round of edits in August and then I’ve got to switch off to
my other series.

I’m really excited with where we go in Book 2. I can tell you I’ve been doing a ton of research on 1831 Vienna.

Finally, if you could travel back in time and witness any historical event, what would it be and why?
Oh
that is a tough one. There’s so many things worth going back to see.
Right now, I’m immersed in Vienna and I’d love to go to 1831 Vienna to
see what the hotels and streets were like so I could write them with an
authentic feel.

If I had to pick a historic event, it would probably be the Congress of Vienna in 1815. I’d love to see
all those powers coming together in Vienna to settle things after the
Napoleonic Wars. It seems like there was a clash of personalities and a
ton of parties.

Thank you for stopping by The Queen of
Teen Fiction! Also, thanks for writing a kick-ass female character with
glasses – there aren't enough of them in YA fiction!
Thanks! I feel the same way. As a girl with glasses, I always longed to see more of them on book covers.

About The Book

In
The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts, prep school junior Kat Preston
accidentally time travels to 1886 Connecticut, where she must share a
body with a rebellious Victorian lady, prevent a gruesome wedding night
murder, disprove a deadly family curse, and find a way back to her own
time.

Bio
K.C. Tansley
lives with her warrior lapdog, Emerson, on a hill somewhere in
Connecticut. She tends to believe in the unbelievables—spells, ghosts,
time travel—and writes about them.

Never one to say no
to a road trip, she’s climbed the Great Wall twice, hopped on the Sound
of Music tour in Salzburg, and danced the night away in the dunes of
Cape Hatteras. She loves the ocean and hates the sun, which makes for
interesting beach days. The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts is the first book in
her YA time-travel murder mystery series.

Monday, 3 August 2015

Welcome to Day 1 of Science Geek Appreciation Week with author Kelly Oram--a fun-filled week of teasers, interviews, games, giveaways, and lots and lost of science! We're going to kick off the week by introducing you to the stars of the Spanish Fork High Science Squad--Club President Avery Shaw and her newest recruit, Grayson Kennedy--in their debut novel The Avery Shaw Experiment.

Summary:
When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best
friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows
how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up
and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her
experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to
experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests,
she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself
ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her
partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery
finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother
Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school
basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and
some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson
to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than
she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery
doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing
Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

Teasers:

Avery

I was so out of it that
I’d slipped into the bathroom while Grayson was in the shower, and I
didn’t even notice until he poked his head out from behind the curtain
with a surprised look on his face. “Aves, babe, I’m a little busy here.”
He cocked an eyebrow and gave me a crooked smile. “Unless you’re
planning to join me...?”

Just then there was a loud
knock on the door, and my mother’s worried voice called out to me. I
looked up at Grayson and in a moment of sheer panic didn’t think twice
before jumping behind the curtain with him.

“Whoa! Avery! I was only teasing!”

I
could hear Grayson, but I couldn’t really respond. I leaned my back
against the cold tile wall and closed my eyes, letting the hot water
rain down on me. There was another knock, louder this time, and then the
door opened. “Avery? That you in here, sweetie?”

I frantically shook my head, praying that Grayson would do the right thing.

“Sorry, Kaitlin. It’s just me.”

“Oh. Sorry, Grayson. I thought maybe you were Avery.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he teased.

My mom laughed and then sighed heavily. “If you see her after you’re done, tell her I’m looking for her.”

“Will do.”

The
door clicked shut and things got quiet. I stood there for so long that
my head started to hurt and I got really dizzy. My knees buckled.
Grayson quickly caught me under the arms. “Avery, breathe,” he
commanded.

I took a breath. As oxygen flooded my lungs, I realized it was probably the first breath I’d taken in minutes. Literally.

“Aves,”
a low steady voice said. I felt hands on either side of my face. I
opened my eyes, and Grayson’s beautiful piercing blue ones were staring
down at me from just inches away, taking up my entire field of vision.
“You good now?” he asked.

I may have been breathing, but
I would never be “good” again. I flung my arms around him and began to
release gut-wrenching sobs into his chest.

Grayson

I
always looked at her as sort of a pesky little sister, but that all
changed the day my brother dumped her. Why, you ask? Let me put it this
way: When a girl lets you be the one to hold her as her entire world
falls apart, even though you’re ass naked, it changes the way you see
her. The soaking-wet, see-through t-shirt didn’t hurt, either.
...

“You look really nice,” I blurted, unable to hide my surprise.

The compliment startled her. She blushed and looked at her feet as she mumbled, “I need to blow my hair dry.”

I grinned. “Don’t want to have to explain to anyone how it got wet, eh?”

She turned even brighter red but then glared at me. “I just don’t want my hair to freeze.”

I
laughed as I threw my hands up in surrender and then laughed even
harder when she stalked past me into the bathroom. I leaned against the
door and watched, curiously, as she dried her hair. There was something
oddly fascinating about watching Little Avery Shaw primp. She’d never
seemed like such a real girl to me before. She wasn’t so little anymore,
either. She caught me staring at her in the mirror, so I quickly said,
“I thought dorks were supposed to have bad hair and horrible, frumpy
fashion senses.”

“Just because I enjoy learning doesn’t mean I’m a dork,” she said, insulted.

“Two words for you Aves: science club.”

This week only, The Avery Shaw Experiment is on sale for just $0.99! Make sure to snag a copy while it's cheap!

Kelly wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her
favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and
friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too
much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of
Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Mr.
Darcy.

Kat Preston doesn’t
believe in ghosts. Not because she’s never seen one, but because she saw
one too many. Refusing to believe is the only way to protect herself
from the ghost that tried to steal her life. Kat’s disbelief keeps her
safe until her junior year at McTernan Academy, when a research project
for an eccentric teacher takes her to a tiny, private island off the
coast of Connecticut.

The site of a grisly mystery, the Isle of
Acacia is no place for a girl who ignores ghosts, but the ghosts leave
Kat little choice. Accompanied by her research partner, Evan Kingsley,
she investigates the disappearance of Cassie Mallory and Sebastian
Radcliffe on their wedding night in 1886. Evan’s scientific approach to
everything leaves Kat on her own to confront a host of unbelievables:
ancestral curses, powerful spells, and her strange connection to the
ghosts that haunt Castle Creighton.

But that’s all before Kat’s
yanked through a magic portal and Evan follows her. When the two of them
awaken 129 years in the past with their souls trapped inside the bodies
of two wedding guests, everything changes. Together, Kat and Evan race
to stop the wedding-night murders and find a way back to their own
time—and their own bodies—before their souls slip away forever.

My Review:

Ghosts, a murder mystery, and even time
travel, this exciting first installment in The Unbelievables series
has it all.

This book follows Kat as she is sent to
the magnificent Castle Creighton to try and solve a murder that
happened 129 years ago. Along with the added pressure of trying to
break a curse, Kat and her fellow researchers have just a matter of
weeks to figure out what is causing the death of first-born Radcliffe
sons on either their honeymoon, or their 23rd birthday,
whichever comes beforehand.

This story just ticked all of the right
boxes for me. I have always adored stories that feature ghosts, so I
was immediately intrigued by the synopsis. Then to find out it
included historical murder mysteries and some time travel, too, made
me even more excited. So it's safe to say I had high hopes for this
book, and I was not left disappointed.

Kat has been able to see ghosts for as
long as she could remember, but after a spooky ordeal as child when a
ghost tried to possess her, a spirit named Toria stepped in to help.
She warned Kat to block the spirits out by ceasing to believe in
them. That was when Kat started to label ghosts as the Unbelievables.

After years of successfully avoiding
belief in the Unbelievables, studying a historical murder rakes up
her own past that she can no longer run from. At Castle Creighton,
Kat can't continue to pretend that ghosts don't exist.

Whilst Kat and a fellow researcher,
Evan, are investigating the murder, they stumble through a portal to
the past, where they must witness the days leading up to the wedding
night on which the murder occurred.

Reading this book, I felt like someone
had taken all of the story elements I love and mixed them together to
create the perfect combination. Ghosts, mysteries, and time travel.
What more could you possibly ask for?

Along with the awesome plot, we're also
treated to a fantastic set of characters. Kat is wonderful, and I
love how she develops over the course of the story. I think there's
so much more of her that we still haven't seen, so I'm excited to see
her progression over the course of this series.

I also loved Kat's sweet and genuine
friendship with Morgan, and also her developing relationship with
Evan. Seeing them constantly get on each others nerves at first,
only to watch them be thrown into the past together was a great
element to the plot. The pair being forced to live through this
nightmare together brings them closer, and I'm definitely excited to
see how they move on from that in the second book.

The mystery was paced out beautifully
and kept me guessing throughout the story. Just when you think you're
figuring it out, you discover there's more to it than you originally
thought. It kept me needing to read on, so I had plenty of those
'just one more chapter' moments. Also, the fact that the characters
are faced with a race-against-time situation makes for some real
heart-stopping scenes.

The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts is
such a promising start to what I predict will be a thrilling series.
It was exciting and fast paced throughout, and I've been utterly
sucked into the mysteries of Kat's world. I can't wait to see what
lies ahead for her and the others.

*Also: on my reading wishlist for 2015, I said I wanted to find a bad-ass female character who wore glasses - I guess I can tick that one off my wishlist now!

**Another also: I'll be posting an awesome interview with K.C. Tansley next week, so be sure to stop by and check it out!